Christene placed her fingetips against the glass. Her eyes were still shimmery from her tears. Erik smiled at her as his image faded. She was so beautiful. She was so very beautiful.
She smiled as her fingers receded from the cool ice of the mirror. On impulse she played her cd. She was so thankful she'd remembered batteries this time around. The overture started. Christene closed her eyes and let the music take her. She swirled around and leapt for the joy of dancing. She sang softly hoping he would hear:
"The phantom of the opera,
Is here,
Inside my mind"
You are Erik. You are in my mind and my soul. She didn't know why meeting a man was causing this joy. She realized then, sparks had flown. She had fallen for him. The first man she had cared for. Her first love.
Erik smiled behind the glass, catching the words and their meaning. He watched her spin and leap. He recognized the joy conveyed through her movements and smiled beneath his mask.
She was true beauty. Her robe flittered behind her like the train of a wedding gown or a sheer cloud. Her hair streamed like molten copper in the light. He knew it was chestnut but the light threw red tints into her hair. Somehow making her more exotic, more beautiful, than the sandy foot angel he had met just two hours ago.
He clutched his heart as it gave a lurch. He was falling for her. He smiled in joy at the first woman in over a hundred years to make him feel. Then he sobered. If he felt, then he could be hurt. Not again, never again. He would never let himself be hurt again.
He sighed into the darkness. Her form was perfect. Her singing was off by less than an octave. There was so little to teach her. She had emotion, power, and range, all she needed was control. After that what would keep her coming back? Nothing. Erik knew it and cursed his fate. He would have her, only to lose her again. He didn't know if he could stand the pain. He walked off into the darkness, trying to figure out why he should continue to see her. Depression as a shroud, he made the decision for her. He couldn't stay. No, it was best for both of them if he disappeared before she had a chance to hurt him.
Christene stopped in the middle of a spin, something was wrong. She could sense it. Christene snorted, "yeah the force is strong with me young padawan. Ohhhk no more Star Wars for a while." She stopped the cd and stepped up to the glass. "Erik? Erik are you still there?" There was no answer. He was gone.